This is a time of year for change and making choices. I know that many of you will know young people – children, grandchildren, or maybe family friends – with exam results or graduations coming up. Among the world of options ahead of them, some may be considering accountancy, and naturally they will ask you, as an ACCA member, for your advice on the best way forward.
It’s a privilege to have this chance to play a part in guiding them at the start of their career journey – and I am always happy to recommend our profession as a wonderful source of opportunity and potential success.
Perfect fit
I am also really glad that I can recommend ACCA especially as a flexible and a practical choice, with so many different routes to qualification: apprenticeships, degree courses, graduate-entry schemes, employer sponsorship and many more. In this way, ACCA offers a career path that is right for every individual.
ACCA was a perfect fit for me because it offered the means to study while earning money
I can cast my mind back as far as the mid-1970s when I was leaving school. I recall that ACCA was a perfect fit for me because even then it was really adaptable. It offered the means to study and learn while earning money at the same time. I had been about to start an arts degree at university, which, for me, ultimately spelt a career in teaching. I hated that idea, ironically enough, given that I eventually found my way into teaching and loved every second. But it wasn’t right for the teenage me.
All types of diverse
The value of ACCA’s flexibility really struck me when I read our report, Neurodiversity in accountancy: the talent within.
It made the point that people with neurodiversity bring a range of different skills to the profession, all of which are incredibly valuable for employers. The report collects a wealth of stories from individuals who have thrived in accountancy. They might have dyspraxia or dyslexia, autism or ADHD, but it hasn’t stopped them emerging as high achievers and brilliant accountants. The opposite, in fact: their different way of seeing and interpreting the world has fuelled their success.
Employers increasingly appreciate the worth of encouraging neurodiversity within their teams
I know that employers increasingly appreciate the worth of encouraging neurodiversity within their teams, and it is a trend we warmly support at ACCA.
I’m certain that you, like me, often hear pleas from keen youngsters who are eager to get that first job to launch their career. I am thrilled that employers are more willing than ever before to offer that life-changing, career-making opportunity – maybe an apprenticeship or an internship – to people who are neurodiverse.
Accountancy – and especially ACCA, I’m proud to say – is open to ambitious individuals who come with a vast range of talents, and it is a big reason why our profession remains such a popular choice with so many.
Long may it continue.
More information
See also articles in AB ‘Workplaces for the neurodiverse‘, ‘Success on the spectrum‘, ‘Build a neurodiverse workforce’ and ‘The neurodiversity solution‘
